


Family

by Losthearts



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, DeLuca backstory on the crumbs we get from greys, F/F, Meeting the Parents, just a teeny tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28484775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Losthearts/pseuds/Losthearts
Summary: Family is important but never easy. Can Maya fit in with the DeLuca's? Is Carina not telling everything?
Relationships: Maya Bishop & Andrew DeLuca, Maya Bishop/Carina DeLuca
Comments: 14
Kudos: 136





	1. Andrew

Maya stood in her kitchen, looking over the pot of mac and cheese. Usually it was Carina that cooked, but her surgery ran late and Maya had a day off so there was plenty of time. She would admit that she wasn’t the best cook but her dishes were edible at least. 

When she heard the door open she didn’t look up from her stove. ‘’In the kitchen, babe,’’ she said as she stirred the pot. 

‘’Uhm, hello,’’ Andrew said as he walked further into the house and in the eye sight of Maya. ‘’Sorry to disappoint, Carina is still in surgery.’’ 

Maya turned around when she heard the male voice instead of that of her girlfriend. Her shoulders instantly tensed upon seeing her girlfriend’s brother now standing at their dining table. ‘’Andrew, hey, what are you doing here?’’ She hoped it wasn’t to give her the shovel talk. 

‘’I’m bringing over some things of Carina that she forgot at my place,’’ he placed her tablet on the table and a few of her other belongings. ‘’Carina gave me her key, she said that you would most likely be running around this time.’’ 

‘’I already went on my run,’’ Maya gave a strained smile. ‘’How are you?’’

‘’I’m doing better, thanks for asking.’’ Andrew and Carina’s relationship had gotten better after Andrew’s diagnosis. He had started to accept his sister’s help and when needed she stayed over at his place. 

An uncomfortable silence fell over both of them. 

Carina and Maya had been dating for seven months and only had lived together for about one month. 

Andrew put his hands in his pockets and looked around the house, quickly seeing Carina’s influence in the apartment. 

Maya turned off the stove and stood next to Andrew, she smiled as both of them looked at the piece of art. ‘’No matter how many times I see the vagina art I will never get used to it,’’ Andrew chuckled lightly, in an attempt to break the tension and lighten the mood. ‘’You should see her villa in Italy. It has even more art...like that.’’

‘’No, Andrew, it’s vulva art,’’ Maya jokingly corrected him. Slowly the tension they both felt started to fade. Before she could comment on the villa part of his sentence, Andrew, had talked again. 

Andrew laughed at her remark and nodded knowingly. ‘’I heard it’s going well between you two.’’ 

Here it comes, the dreaded shovel talk. Maya took a breath and nodded, ‘’Yeah, things have been going well since I broke...since we got together again.’’ They had their regular small fights every couple had. Yes, Maya needed time to get used to all of Carina's things in her space, it had now become their space. Thanks to therapy Maya had been able to talk with Carina about it, calmly. 

‘’She really loves you,’’ Andrew turned to Maya and smiled, there was not a hint of malice or threat in his voice. ‘’At this point you are her longest running relationship. I never thought I would see the day where my big sister would move in with someone.’’ 

Andrew wasn’t going to give a shovel talk, he wasn’t good with them. His and Carina’s roles were clearly defined. She was the big sister and he the little brother, she did the shovel talk or was at least passive aggressive to the girlfriends of Andrew that she didn’t like. Sam Bello would be a good example of that. As the eldest daughter she carried the emotional burden of the family and took care of their unstable father. 

His mental illness had complicated things between them but their relationship was on the mend. Carina was always going to be there for him, no matter what would happen. He felt that he had no right to say anything about her relationship and knew also that Carina wouldn’t listen to him. 

When his sister was crying on his shoulder after she told him that Maya had cheated on her with her ex boyfriend, of course he had been angry and told her that she deserved better. Carina being the big sister that she was didn’t listen and took Maya back far too quickly and easily for his liking. Beside a snarky comment here and there, he made no further comment on their relationship. It wasn’t his place as the little brother.

The beginning familial relationship between Maya and Andrew was on thin ice from the beginning. But Carina had told him that Maya had gone to therapy and did the work to earn her trust back. He was wary of them moving in together, but he could see that Carina really loved Maya. He decided to not stand in their way and make it harder for Maya to be accepted in the family. 

‘’I know,’’ Maya let out a relieved sigh when the dreaded shovel talk didn’t seem to be coming. ‘’I won’t mess up again. She is the best thing that ever has been mine.’’ 

‘’I know, Carina knows that too. I know we aren’t the easiest family, Maya.’’ Their father had high expectations for both his children. 

‘’I know a thing or two about difficult family members.’’ 

Andrew gave her a sympathetic nod, something told him that Carina hadn’t told her everything about their background in Italy. Their relationship was still to be tested in ways that Maya didn’t know yet. ‘’Yes, dad is unstable but….’’ He grabbed his phone from his pocket and checked the time when he felt the vibration of an alarm going off. It was time for his meds. ‘’I should go home.’’ 

‘’Of course, thanks for bringing over Carina’s things.’’ Maya made a mental note to ask Carina about this later.

‘’Carina always has been taking care of everyone else, she needs someone that can take care of her too,’’Andrew closed his backpack and placed his hand on Maya’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. ‘’You two will make it together. Maybe one day we can hang out, together, I have lots of embarrassing stories to tell.’’ 

‘’I would love that,’’ Maya nodded once again at his words and smiled at him as he left her apartment. She would like to build a relationship with Andrew and get to know Carina more through him. 

Twenty minutes after Andrew had left, the doorbell rang. This time Maya knew exactly who stood behind that door. She opened the door to let her exhausted girlfriend inside. 

‘’Sorry, I had an emergency surgery just before my shift ended,’’ Carina apologized as she placed a quick peck on her Maya’s lips. 

‘’It’s fine, babe, I cooked.’’ 

‘’Perfect, I’ll take a quick shower and join you for dinner, bambina.’’ After another stolen kiss Carina took off her coat and shoes before she went to go take a shower. 

Maya prepared the bowls of mac and cheese and waited on the couch. ‘’No eating at the dining table?’’ Carina has asked, as she saw the table wasn’t set. She grabbed the drinks for the both of them and joined her girlfriend on the couch. 

‘’Nope, this is comfort food and we eat comfort food on the couch,’’ Maya shook her head and handed the bowl of food over to Carina. ‘’I hope you like it.’’ 

Carina took a careful taste of the food Maya prepared and slowly started to nod her head. ‘’This is good, Maya!’’ After a long and tiring shift, the bowl of mac and cheese was needed to replenish her energy. 

‘’I am glad you like it!’’ Maya had closely inspected her girlfriend and her features to make sure she wasn’t lying. Once she was pleased that wasn’t the case she started to eat. 

The two women ate peacefully together and discussed the day that they had. Carina talked about the babies she delivered and Maya talked about her day off. 

‘’Andrew dropped off your things,’’ Maya said as she refilled their glasses with wine. ‘’I talked a bit with him.’’

‘’Really? How was it? Did he seem okay?’’ 

‘’He seemed to be doing well. We talked a bit about us and your vulva art.’’ 

‘’Well, it is a conversation starter,’’ Carina smiled and brought the wine glass to her lips, taking a small sip from it. ‘’He wasn’t rude was he?’’ 

‘’No, nothing like that. It was a nice talk,’’ she shook her head and grinned mischievously. ‘’He asked me to hang out with him, I hear he has plenty of embarrassing stories about you.’’

Carina raised her brows, a bit confused but happy with this development of their relationship. ‘’Mamma Mia, you two are going to gang up on me, won’t you?’’ 

‘’Oh, yeah, totally,’’ Maya chuckled as she nodded her head up and down, enthusiastically. She reached to hold Carina’s free hand and intertwined their fingers together, softly placing a kiss on the back of it. ‘’If you are okay with it, I would like it if you could meet my mother, this time properly.’’ 

Now that Maya was also repairing the relationship with her mother, she had been talking more about Carina to her. Naturally this got Maya’s mother curious as to who this woman was that changed her daughter so much. Her mother had been pestering Maya to meet the lovely Italian doctor again. She wanted to get to know her daughter’s girlfriend.

Those little gestures made Carina melt. She loved this side of Maya, the side that only she got to see in quiet moments like this. ‘’Of course, Maya, I would love that.’’ 

Maya placed a soft kiss on Carina’s lips, one that the Italian woman happily returned. She cuddled up to her girlfriend, her back leaning Carina’s front. ‘’Can I ask something about Italy?’’ 

Carina took the last sip of wine before she put the glass on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. ‘’Si, Bambina, you can ask me anything.’’ 

She could hide her nerves well from Andrew, less so from Carina. ‘’Your brother told me that you still have a villa in Italy.’’ 

‘’I do,’’ she nodded, not really understanding where this was going yet. 

‘’Are you thinking of ever returning to Italy….like permanently?’’ Maya’s voice had gotten soft, it was barely audible. 

‘’Oh, Maya,’’ Carina kissed the crown of her head and wrapped her arms a little bit tighter around Maya. ‘’I am not going anywhere. This is my home now, here, with you.’’ 

Maya focussed on getting her breathing even, subconsciously matching her breathing to that of Carina in order to calm down. The kiss and the reassuring words from her girlfriend made it easier for her. They stayed in silence until Maya felt ready to talk again. ‘’But isn’t that expensive?’’ 

They had not really talked about money in dept. All their bills were split evenly, when they moved in together. Their combined incomes made for a comfortable life together. There was little need to discuss money between them. 

‘’I bought the house years ago. The mortgage is already paid off,’’ Carina shook her head. ‘’I keep the house because I don’t want to stay with my family all the time when I visit Italy. They can be...a lot at times.’’ 

Maya had understood the reasoning behind her still having the villa now. Though there was still some question about how Carina was able to afford a villa years ago and have it paid off completely. It was a question for another time. 

‘’One day, when we have some time off, I will take you to Italy,’’ she whispered as she peppered Maya’s cheek with little kisses. ‘’Nobody will disturb us, we will have all the privacy in the world.’’

‘’I like the sound of that,’’ Maya grinned and turned her face so that Carina’s lips would land on her own.


	2. Vincenzo DeLuca

Carina sat behind her desk in her office, going over some charts, she didn’t look up when she heard someone coming inside of her office, thinking that it was one of her interns. ‘’You can leave the files there.’’

‘’Bambini.’’ 

She froze as soon as she heard the voice that belonged to her father. ‘’Just a second, Papa,’’ she grabbed her phone and quickly sent a text to Andrew, informing him that their father was here and that it was best that he avoided her floor for now. He was her priority now. The unexpected visit of their father could complicate Andrew’s recovery. She had to protect her little brother from her father right now.

Carina then stood up, straightened her clothes and walked to her father. ‘’You didn’t tell me you were coming.’’ 

‘’Can I not surprise my bambini? You two hardly tell me things,’’ he gave his daughter a kiss on each cheek before leaning back. ‘’I stopped by your apartment and had to hear from your neighbor that you moved out a month ago. That is no way for a father to find out his daughter moved somewhere else, I looked like a fool, knocking on an empty apartment door.’’ 

‘’Sorry, Papa, I was busy with moving to another place,’’ she looked him over trying to gauge his mood to see if he was in another manic episode or if he was more stable. She guided him to the couch she had in her office and sat next to him. 

‘’That is great news! That apartment was like a shoebox.’’ That little piece of information made him smile. ‘’Where did you move to? Somewhere bigger or are you planning on moving back home? I miss you there, everyone misses you there,’’ Vincenzo hoped it was the latter instead of former. ‘’...I am sure that Matteo misses you too.’’

Carina lived in a one bedroom apartment. When she first came to Seattle it was all that she needed. She hadn’t planned to stay long. She came here only for Andrew. Then Arizona and Maya happened. 

It wasn’t rare for her father to bring up her ex. She was almost convinced that he loved her ex more than he loved his own children. Carina rolled her eyes and sighed, preparing for another lecture from the father that she knew was coming. 

‘’Well, if he misses me so much, then he can reach out to me himself.’’ 

Vincenzo grabbed his phone and sent Carina’s details to Matteo before she could even object to it. ‘’Done! Isn’t technology great?’’ he was very pleased with himself and grinned at his daughter, who he thought would be pleased with it. 

‘’Papa!’’ Carina blinked and raised her brows high as her father made an attempt to get her to reunite with her ex. When did he get so good with his phone? Years ago he would need help to instal an app and now he was easily sending her contact information to someone else.

‘’Carina, it is time for you to settle down, come back to Italy,’’ he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Vincenzo had said that there always needed to be at least one DeLuca in Italy. ‘’He would make an excellent husband for you. Years ago you even agreed to marry him.’’

‘’I moved in with Maya!’’ she stood up and walked away from her father, already having a suspicion that the conversation would get very tense or turn out in a shouting match. ‘’You gotta let it go that I didn’t marry him. It’s been years. I love Maya now.’’ 

‘’Maya?’’ Vincenzo looked confused for a moment, when he realized who she meant, he stood up as well and scoffed. ‘’That woman? The one that cheated on you? The firefighter?’’ 

Of course her father would know that Maya cheated on her despite her not telling himself. She had made the mistake to confide in one of her cousins, who probably told another cousin, who told her aunt, who then passed the information to her father.

‘’Yes, her.’’ Carina cleared her throat. ’’I forgave her. We worked through that.’’ Now was the time to defend Maya and show her father that she was serious about this relationship. 

‘’Do you have no self respect? She cheated on you! What do you think everyone will think of you back in Italy?’’ Vincenzo didn’t care that Maya was a woman. He had come to terms with his daughter’s sexuality soon after she told him. He had an issue with their relationship because Maya cheated on Carina. The issue wasn’t that she had hurt his daughter, no, the issue was what would it do to their reputation back in Italy?

‘’I don’t care what everyone thinks about me. The relationship is only between Maya and I. Not the family, our friends or acquaintances in Italy.’’ 

‘’Moving in together,’’ he shook his head in disdain as he raised his voice. ‘’What’s next? Marrying her, having children with her?’’ 

‘’Yes, possibly, hopefully in the future, yes!’’ Carina stood right in front of him, due to his height and her not wearing heels, she had to raise her head to look him in the eye. 

‘’You can’t! Choose someone else!’’ 

‘’I won’t! I made my choice!’’ 

‘’She is but a simple firefighter!’’ 

‘’She is a captain of station 19 and a hero. She risks her own life to save other people and won a gold medal in the Olympics in track!’’ 

‘’What good is that gold medal? What is she going to do with that? Just use you, and then run away?!’’

Each sentence made their voices louder and louder until they were in a full blown shouting match. Thank god that she had her own office and that the door of it was closed now. 

Both of them stared at each other, neither speaking as they took a break from shouting. 

‘’Bambini,’’ it was the eldest DeLuca that spoke first. His voice had gotten soft now, but an authoritative tone always remained with Vincenzo. ‘’A firefighter doesn’t belong in our family. We are DeLuca’s. We have a reputation to uphold,’’ he cupped his daughter’s face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. 

Carina wanted to walk away at first but when she felt his hands on her, she closed her eyes and sighed, softly. The gentle touch made her melt in his hands, it made her think of the past. When she was a little girl and got sad, this was exactly what he did. Caress her cheeks and kiss her forehead. Magically everything would be okay and she wasn’t sad anymore knowing that her dad was there for her. That was the past, things wouldn’t be okay now with just a kiss on her forehead. 

‘’Papa, I love her.’’ she whispered as she opened her teary eyes and looked up at her father again. Even if she whispered, her tone was firm, to show him that she meant it. Carina had chosen Maya. ‘’What kind of job she has doesn’t matter,’’ it did matter to Carina, the fact that Maya was a firefighter made her only more attractive to the doctor. 

‘’It matters to me,’’ he mumbled and took a deep breath. ‘’Carina, I am asking you to reconsider. Think of our family.’’ 

‘’Haven’t I done enough for our family?’’ she was slowly starting to get angry again. ‘’After you destroyed our name, who was there always by your side? Who was there with you during the various gala’s? Who charmed your friends, who helped you create new connections. Who was there with a perfect record in OB? It was all me. I have given my life to better the DeLuca name.’’ 

Vincenzo was silent, he was just staring at his eldest daughter and listening to what she said. For all the reasons above, he considered Carina his heir and Andrew his spare. When she had gotten serious about her career as a surgeon he was overjoyed that his little girl would follow in his footsteps. He was less pleased about her choice to go into OB. Although even he couldn’t deny that Carina was excellent. 

The DeLuca name could be considered synonymous with wealth and pride. That was until Vincenzo, during a manic phase, operated on seven people without a break, sleep and food. Four people ended up dead because of him. He only got away with it because of his friends in high places and money. It had taken years for people to forget it happened. It took even more years for people to associate the DeLuca name with positivity again. 

Andrew had it easy in America, not many people knew what his father had done. Everyone in Italy knew what the once great Vincenzo DeLuca had done. It made going to med school in Italy hard for Carina, until she had proven herself. That made her even more determined to work harder than anyone else in her field. With years, much training and a very successful study, it was now Carina that was the famous DeLuca surgeon. 

‘’Yes, you have done a lot,’’ the father sighed after the tense silence. ‘’I just ask you to do one more thing. Just contact Matteo and hear him out.’’

‘’Mamma mia, Papa, if you like him so much then why don’t you marry him yourself?’’ Carina was close to being done with this conversation. 

‘’Don’t be ridiculous, Carina,’’ he huffed, ‘’She doesn’t deserve you.’’ 

‘’You must know all about it…’’ she knew that the next words were going to be harsh. ‘’You did the exact same when you slept with your intern. Mamma deserved better than you.’’ 

That was what did it, Vincenzo was finally silent. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, ready to say something, in the end he just shook his head and walked to the door and out of her office. 

Carina only slightly regretted what she had said. It seemed the only way to end the conversation. She laid down on her couch and let out a frustrated groan. 

* * *

‘’Wait for me here, I won’t be long,’’ he said to his personal driver before stepping out of the car. He entered the station and walked to the front desk. ‘’I’m here to speak to the captain of this station.’’ 

Vic was manning the front desk and looked up to the person that spoke to her. ‘’Is she expecting you?’’ 

‘’No, I am Carina’s father. I need to speak to the Maya, she is the captain here right?’’ 

The tone of voice made Vic believe that something serious was going on. ‘’Yes, one second,’’ she quickly stood up and entered Maya’s office after a quick nod. ‘’Carina’s father wants to speak to you. It sounds pretty serious.’’ 

Maya looked up from her paperwork and stood up from her desk. ‘’Let him in,’’ 

A moment later Vic walked Vincenzo to the captain’s office. She looked one last time at Maya, who seemed pretty nervous in the presence of the eldest DeLuca. Right now she couldn’t do anything. 

Vincenzo closed the door behind him, right in Vic’s face. He turned to Maya and looked at her from head to toe, trying to see what his daughter saw in the firefighter. 

‘’Dr. Deluca, it’s nice to meet you,’’ she walked away from her desk and offered him her hand to shake. 

The father didn’t accept her hand, he only looked at it and moved past her to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. ‘’We need to talk about Carina.’’ 

Maya was begging for a fire big enough to escape this conversation right now. ‘’She is not hurt is she?’’ she asked as she sat behind her desk again. 

Vincenzo didn’t bother to reply to her question. ‘’Do you love my daughter?’’ 

‘’I do, sir, very much,’’ it bothered her that he didn’t answer her question but at this point she trusted Andrew enough to inform him if something happened with Carina. 

‘’If you love her as much as you say, you end this relationship right now,’’ He scoffed at her answer. ‘’You are a stain on the family name.’’

Maya was silent for a second, thinking of a correct way to answer without seeming too rude. The relationship between Carina and her father was complicated, but they still had one and she didn’t want to come between that. ‘’Respectfully, sir, Carina and I are happy together.’’ 

‘’For now. How long until you decide to cheat on her again?’’ he crossed his arms over his chest and gave Maya an icy look. ‘’

Maya clenched her jaws. Yes, she messed up, made a big mistake. She hated it when it was brought up by other people. The only person who had that right was Carina who was directly affected by it. ‘’That was a big mistake on my part. Your daughter forgave me. We worked things out.’’ 

‘’She doesn’t always make the best decisions.’’ he grumbled. ‘’You don’t deserve my daughter. Carina could snap her fingers and have a line of men and women at her feet!’’ 

‘’That isn’t up for you to decide,’’ she stood up, ready to get him out of the office, not knowing how much longer she could take this. Maya had been working hard in therapy to overcome thoughts like this. ‘’Every day I have been trying to prove that she can trust me again, Carina chooses me, day in and out.’’ 

‘’She still has her villa in Italy, people there that miss her,’’ he grabbed his wallet, took out a picture and threw it on her desk. ‘’She won’t choose you for long. Not when she gets back to Italy and is reminded of her life there.’’ 

Maya looked at the picture that was thrown on her desk. She saw a younger Carina wearing a backless dress, leaning against a handsome man that was taller than her. He had his arm around her, resting on the small of her back. She had her left hand against his chest, her ring finger was adorned with a sparkling round brilliant diamond cut ring. Carina was looking over her shoulder and into the camera with a huge smile, as did the man she was with.

The first thing Maya could think of was that the ring was too big. She knew that Carina preferred her rings to be more delicate. When she wore a ring with a gemstone, she liked them smaller. 

‘’That is happiness, that is how I would like to see my daughter,’’ Vincenzo stood up, breaking Maya’s focus on the picture. ‘’I haven’t seen her this happy since. If you truly care and love Carina as you say, you end the relationship,’’ those were the last words of Vincenzo DeLuca before he walked out of her office and the station. 

Maya let herself fall into the chair as she looked at the picture. Was Carina married? If she was, why would she not tell her about it? They hadn’t really had the talk about exes, or their ‘list’ of people they slept with. Maya told her about Jack and Carina told her about Owen and Arizona. But she expected this to be mentioned at least. 

Vic knocked on the captain’s door, when she heard no reply she slowly opened the door and entered the office with Andy. ‘’Hey, we just wanted to check in, is everything okay?’’

Maya blinked a few times and looked up from the picture to address her friends. ‘’I’m fine.’’ 

Vic and Andy gave each other a look, knowing that their friend was not okay right now. 

‘’We’re here for you, Maya.’’ Andy said as she walked to the desk and stood next to her. 

‘’Whatever he said, he is a jerk,’’ Vic said as she sat down in one of the chairs, not getting over the moment where she had a door closed in her face. 

Maya stayed silent, not responding to either of her friends, her focus was back on the picture of Carina and the man she didn’t know. Jealousy was raging inside of her. That this man had proposed and that Carina, her girlfriend clearly said yes. 

‘’That’s Carina?’’ Andy asked an obvious answer as she looked at the photo, she knew it was obvious but maybe it would get Maya to talk. Vic leaned forward to look at the picture. 

‘’She is either engaged or married here,’’ Maya’s tone was flat. ‘’Her father says I am a stain on their family name.’’ 

Andy gently rubbed Maya’s shoulder. 

‘’Isn’t it a bit weird that he has a picture of his daughter with her ex?’’ Vic raised her brows, ‘’How can a firefighter be a stain on a family name? We run into burning buildings and save people!’’ 

‘’Yeah, well clearly that isn’t good enough for him.’’ Maya shrugged her shoulders. 

‘’What is she a Italian princess or something?’’ Andy asked. ‘’It is good enough for Carina. Maya, she loves you, you know that.’’ 

‘’That’s a sizable ring,’’ Vic whistled as she inspected the picture again. ‘’So what’s his problem? That you are a firefighter or that you aren’t born with a silver spoon?’’ 

‘’If I have to guess, both,’’ Maya replied. 

‘’Have you ever googled your girlfriend or the DeLuca’s?’’ Vic asked. 

‘’No, why would I?’’ Maya looked at Vic with a confused expression. 

‘’What? Am I the only one that googles their potential partners?’’ Vic looked between both Maya and Andy. 

‘’Way ahead of you,’’ Andy said as looked up from her phone. ‘’I found mostly articles about her dad and a medical scandal?’’ She looked at Maya, to see if she was aware of that. 

‘’Yes, Carina told me about that. He operated on patients in a manic phase and some ended up dead.’’ 

‘’Okay. I found that picture in another article,’’ she turned her phone and showed it to the two other firefighters. On the screen were two pictures side by side one was the same picture, this time taken from a slightly different angle. The second picture was of the couple sharing a chaste kiss. There was an caption in italian under it. 

Vic and Maya both looked up at Andy, as if they were waiting for her to say something more. 

‘’I’m Spanish, not Italian, it’s not the same! I’ll try to translate. It says here,’’ she rolled her eyes and looked back at her phone. ‘’CEO Matteo Martinelli announces engagement to Carina DeLuca at the annual benefit Gala.’’ Andy paused a second as she tried to translate the article to the best of her ability. ‘’It also says that they have just been together for four months, and holy hell!’’ She audibly gasped as her eyes went wide. 

‘’What?’’ both Vic and Maya said simultaneously. 

‘’That ring she wears is estimated to be over two million.’’ 

‘’So she is an Italian princess,’’ whispered Vic. 

Maya was stunned by the price of the ring. She knew that Carina, as head of OB, earned a salary to be more than comfortable. Though she never thought of her girlfriend as filthy rich. Her apartment was a one bedroom. She had her first job at nine. She wasn’t a snob, well, only when it came to coffee. The few things that could be an indication of her wealth was her car, her collection of shoes, handbags and designer clothes. 

Carina always looked impeccable. When they moved in together, it was Carina’s idea to buy a house and move somewhere new. Maya wasn’t ready yet to let go of her house yet. Together they agreed that they would move to another house in a few years. 

Naively she thought that for Carina this whole thing of moving in together and really committing to each other was new for her as well. That didn’t seem the case anymore now that she was previously engaged. 

‘’Don’t you guys have something to do?’’ Maya spoke up suddenly and looked at her friends. She gave them a look that couldn’t be argued with this time. ‘’’Thanks you, guys, but really I am fine.’’ 

Vic and Andy gave each other one more look before reluctantly leaving the captain in her office. 

Maya grabbed her phone, to check if Carina had been texting her. When there were no fires and Carina was in between surgeries they always managed to send each other a few text messages. There were no messages. She tried to focus on the rest of the shift but found it hard to do. 

* * *

When Carina came home she went straight to the kitchen to fill up a glass of wine. After a long shift and the visit from her dad she needed to unwind. ‘’Bella, I’m home.’’ 

In her haste she hadn’t seen Maya standing at the end of their dining table, who was already waiting for her girlfriend to come home. ‘’Rough day?’’ Maya asked. 

Carina turned around with a smile, glass in hand and walked to Maya, to greet her with a kiss as they usually did. To her surprise she was stopped by her girlfriend before she could even reach her. 

They stood at each end of the dining room table, the room filling up with tension. Carina didn’t like it. It was too formal and cold to have a conversation like this. 

‘’Your father stopped by the station during my shift,’’ Maya crossed her arms as she looked at her girlfriend. 

‘’Shit, I am sorry, bella,’’ Carina closed her eyes and sighed. She didn’t expect that her father would actually go to the station. ‘’Don’t listen to anything he said, please.’’ 

‘’He believes I am a stain on the DeLuca family name and that I don’t deserve you,’’ Maya took the picture her father left behind out of her pocket and looked at it for a second before putting it on the table and sliding it over to Carina’s end. ‘’He believes you are much happier with Matteo,’’ she scoffed and shrugged. ‘’You look pretty happy on that picture with your two million ring.’’ 

‘’I’m sorry Maya, I should have told you after he visited my office,’’ Carina instantly felt bad, she should have warned Maya. Maybe then the confrontation could have been prevented. She looked at the picture that was now on her side of the table and bit her lip. It brought back memories, both good and bad. ‘’This was years ago Maya. He doesn’t matter to me anymore.’’ 

‘’Don’t lie to me, why didn’t you tell me about him before, if he doesn’t matter to you anymore?’’ She asked as she looked at Carina looking at the picture. No. He still meant something to her, she was sure. ‘’Are you still married to him? Why does Andrew think that I am the first person you moved in with?’’ Maya’s mind went racing with questions on why her girlfriend hadn’t indulged her with this information. 

‘’I don’t like talking about that period of my life,’’ Carina took a rather large sip of her wine and switched her attention from the picture to Maya. 

‘’No, you cannot do that, Carina, it’s not fair,’’ Maya raised her voice a bit and shook her head, noticing that she hadn’t even answered the marriage question. ‘’You push me to talk about my past trauma and yet not talk about any of yours.’’ 

‘’I tell you about Italy all the time,’’ yes, Carina had told Maya about her father’s illness but that was only in relation to let Maya understand that she was abused. 

‘’Only the good stuff, we only talk about your father when it’s time for you to draw a parallel of abuse with my dad. You didn’t even tell me you were engaged!‘’ Maya sat down in the chair and put her face in her hands, rubbing her temples in circles. This day was emotionally heavy. ‘’Carina, you are like an open book with invisible ink that I cannot read…’’ She thought that she knew Carina, and she did, but with the information that came to light today she felt that maybe even some pages were missing.

The firefighter was right, she was being unfair now. The last thing she wanted today was to have a fight. ‘’Andrea doesn’t know I was engaged to Matteo,’’ Carina finished her glass of wine. If they were going to have this conversation, she needed all of it. ‘’And I never married. Only got engaged.’’ 

Maya lifted her head from her hands and looked at how Carina practically downed the whole glass in one sip. She noticed that the doctor’s eyes got watery. 

‘’Please, bambina, let’s not fight now,’’ Carina wanted to comfort Maya and be comforted in return. ‘’Let’s talk but not fight,’’ she walked to Maya’s end of the table and extended her hand. 

Maya stood up and nodded, wordlessly, she accepted Carina’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze as she led them to the bedroom. 

‘’A minute, please,’’ 

‘’I’ll be here,’’ Maya sat on her side of the bed. Since the moment they slept together, her and Carina had a clearly defined side. Maya slept on the left and Carina on the right. 

Carina walked out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas and joined Maya on the bed. The doctor leaned her back against the headboard and grabbed a pillow to hug. 

Maya could see that this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation for Carina. She removed the pillow and took its place instead. 

‘’First, dammi un bacio,’’ she requested with a whisper as she looked at Maya and leaned in for a kiss, one that the fire fighter returned. The kiss was soft and gentle and right what the both of them needed now. Carina leaned back and wrapped her arms tightly around Maya. ‘’I am sorry for my father. I love you and you will never be a stain on my name,’’ she kissed Maya’s temple a few times to drive the point home. ‘’Second, what do you want to know?’’

‘’You don’t have to apologize to him, it’s not like you can control his actions,’’ Maya spoke after the kiss. ‘’I thought this whole experience, the relationship and moving in together was just as new for you as it was for me...Why did you never tell me you were engaged and why doesn’t Andrew know?’’ 

‘’I had been dating Matteo for two months before my mother came to visit me in Italy.’’ Carina looked up to their ceiling and blinked her a couple of times, to make the impending tears stop from falling. ‘’I didn’t know it was the last time she was visiting me. She died a week after her arrival.’’ 

Maya caressed the arms that were around with her thumb, she listened attentively as Carina began to tell her the explanation of her engagement. 

‘’After my mother’s funeral, my father fell into a deep depression and Andrea moved back to America. My mother left me for the second time in my life. I was alone and I hate being alone. When Andrea moved back to America, he ignored Papa and I for months, that is how he doesn’t know I have been engaged.’’’ 

Where Maya had her self care Wednesdays, Carina had her relationships. She was more of a serial monogamist. Preferring relationships that didn’t last after three months over single one night stands. 

Maya wiped away the tear that rolled down Carina’s cheek. She had no idea that this was linked to her mother’s death. 

‘’I was alone and vulnerable,’’ she looked at Maya. ‘’Matteo was there for me. After two months after my mamma’s passing, he proposed to me and I said, yes. He filled a void in me and for once in my life it was nice that I had someone that took care of me. I loved him and he was good to me.’’ 

‘’Your dad is convinced when you return to Italy that you get back with him again,’’ she mumbled, if she was honest she wasn’t so sure that it wouldn’t happen. ‘’Do you still talk to him?’’ 

‘’My dad loves him, almost more than his own children,’’ she rolled her eyes when she remembered what her father had done this afternoon. ‘’No, I haven’t talked or seen him in years.’’

‘’How long did your entire relationship last?’’ she continued her line of questions. ‘’Will you be returning to Italy soon, for a visit I mean?’’ 

‘’We got engaged after four months and stayed with him for another nine months. So I was with him for over a year,’’ she said as she played with Maya’s hair while continuing to answer her question. ‘’Probably, there are some events that I as a DeLuca should attend.’’ 

Maya was about to ask another question when she heard Carina’s phone ring. ‘’It’s the hospital?’’ 

Carina took her phone from the nightstand and held it in front of her, so that Maya could see the screen too. There was no name, only a number ‘’It’s an Italian number,’’ she looked at the time, in Seattle it was midnight which meant it was just 9AM in Italy. 

Maya scoffed a bit, only thinking of one person that could call her this late at night. She moved away but was stopped by Carina holding her back. She saw that the doctor had declined the call. 

‘’I’m here with you, please don’t run, bambina,’’ Carina kissed her shoulder and Maya instantly relaxed again. 

‘’So your father disapproves of me because I am a firefighter or because I am not crazy rich?’’ 

‘’Both,’’ the doctor said with a sigh as she ran her hand through her hair. ‘’We DeLuca’s only marry other doctors, business owners, politicians or lawyers. It’s also why he was so happy that Andrea was in a relationship with Meredith.’’ 

Carina had disliked the relationship between Andrew and Meredith from the start. She was his attending and he was just an intern. Even if it was fashion among her colleagues to have relationships with the interns, she was very against it. It made her think back of the times that her father had cheated on her mother with one of his interns. 

‘’So I will never be good enough for you in his eyes…’’ 

‘’It doesn’t matter what he thinks of you,’’ Carina shook her head. ‘’I love you, Maya, I choose you and nobody else.’’ 

‘’Why didn’t you tell me that you are crazy rich?’’ Maya smiled at her words and softly kissed her jaw. 

‘’Honestly, I didn’t think it would matter between you and I.’’ The doctor had offered to pay for a bigger portion of their bills. Maya refused out of pride. She made a decent salary herself. 

‘’It’s not a problem, unless you expect another two million ring when I propose.’’ Maya who was now in a much better mood chuckled a bit. 

‘’How did you find out about the ring, anyways?’’ 

‘’Andy googled you and the article said it was the estimated worth.’’ 

‘’It was way too big for my usual style. I will love any ring from you Maya, no matter the price.’’ Carina chuckled now too, she would love to be a fly on the wall and see their expressions. ‘’Actually the ring is worth four million.’’ 

‘’Shut up! How do you just casually walk around with that?’’ Maya's jaw dropped as she jokingly slapped Carina’s arm. ‘’I knew it!’’ 

Carina had just shrugged and hugged the firefighter close to her again. 

‘’Thank you for opening up,’’ Maya said as she shifted their bodies so that they were laying down and she could pull the sheets over them. 

‘’I should have done it sooner…’’ the doctor cuddled close to her girlfriend and rested her head on the firefighter’s chest. ‘’I am glad that I did.’’ 

Unbeknownst to the women, Carina’s phone lit up again in the middle of the night, this time only with a text message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter and that it made sense. Would you be interested in having a flashback chapter of just Carina and her dad? That would probably be a separate one shot.


End file.
